Jake Bugg to play Bianca Freitas benefit
On Stage Lab, the live entertainment educational institution co-founded by the late Bianca Freitas, has announced the Paralise o Guillain-Barré fund to raise awareness and money for research into Guillain-Barré syndrome.
Freitas (pictured), a popular Brazilian concert promoter and long-time ILMC member, passed away last October after losing her battle with the autoimmune disease.
Paralise o Guillain-Barré (‘Paralyse Guillain-Barré’) will officially launch on 8 March, the first day of ILMC 29, with a show by Jake Bugg at a secret location in Brazil.
The 200 people attending the event, who will receive invitations via On Stage Lab partners and social media, will “receive more information about Guillain-Barré syndrome from doctors, and will be able to post snippets of the singer’s appearance on their social media accounts with the hashtag #InformaçãoNãoParalisa (#InformationDoesntParalyze),” explains On Stage Lab’s other founder, Fabiana Lian.
Paralise o Guillain-Barré will officially launch on Wednesday 8 March, the first day of ILMC 29
“Everyone who wins places in this special presentation should bring food donations, which will be donated to the Bianca’s Day project, created by the family of Bianca. […] Food donations will be directed an NGO that takes care of poor people in Sao Paulo and Brasilia.”
According to Lian, Paralise o Guillain-Barré has two goals: to inform the Brazilian population about the disease, how it develops and whether it has any relation to the Zika virus; and to raise funds for scientific research into the disease.
Donations can be made on crowdfunding platform Kickante. All money will be directed to the department of neurology at the University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), one of the few institutions in Brazil that undertakes research into diseases of the peripheral nervous system, including Guillain-Barré syndrome.
The World Health Organisation estimates incidences of the syndrome grew 19% year on year in Brazil between January and December 2015. The total number of cases was 1,708 – more than five a day.
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Bianca Freitas passes
Brazilian concert promoter Bianca Freitas, the founder of Sao Paulo-based Enjoy Experiences, has passed away.
Freitas, who was hospitalised four months ago after contracting Guillain-Barré syndrome, died from pneumonia in a Sao Paolo hospital on Wednesday morning, her assistant confirms.
In addition to running Enjoy Experiences, Freitas, a veteran of the Latin American live scene, produced major shows for clients including Universal Music and Editora Abril and represented the NME brand in Brazil. She was also the co-founder of On Stage Lab, which runs music industry training courses.
Paying tribute to Freitas, Phil Rodriguez, the CEO of Move Concerts, says: “I’m heartbroken. She was such a lovely person. So young and full of dreams. A top professional and always had a smile on her face.
“She faced her illness with courage and fought till the end like the lioness she was. She will be sorely missed. My world is a sadder place without her.”
“‘Bibs’ was an unlimited source of energy, and was full of joy and generosity”
ILMC head Greg Parmley comments: “As well as being a longstanding ILMC member, Bianca was also an extremely capable chair, and a personal friend of many of the team, including myself. We were all devastated to hear about her sudden passing. From her efforts to bring more young people into the industry to the boundless energy and enthusiasm she brought to each of her projects, she’ll be missed enormously.”
Fabiana Lian, Freitas’s partner in On Stage Lab, says: “Bibs was an unlimited source of energy, and was full of joy and generosity. As long as you spoke to her after 8am, that is, and only after her first cup of coffee – otherwise you’d get a freezing look, or a “Seriously?”
“It’s been weird coming to the office and not having her around for another dose of her daily genius ideas, because the disease stopped this unstoppable woman four months ago. But even there at the hospital she insisted on talking about business, and keeping up-to-date to everything around the globe. She couldn’t make it happen like she always did this time, and she is leaving us after 34 years of intense life.
“We owe it to the music world – her world – to keep up running her projects and taking care of her followers, students and everything she touched with her passion. This unstoppable woman’s legacy will keep us rocking – that’s a promise. Thank you, Bianca!”
“I will missing spending time with such a generous, vibrant and beautiful woman”
John Jackson of K2 Agency (Iron Maiden, Metallica) comments: “I knew Bianca for many years and considered her a friend. Although I was aware of her illness, it was still devastating news to learn of her sad passing.
“Bianca was the best of the best and everyone at K2 loved her. I will miss her.”
K2’s Jane Miller adds: “I first met Bianca around ten years ago and she presented me with an array of Havaianas flip flops. I knew we were going to get on well. I will missing spending time with such a generous, vibrant and beautiful woman.”
“She was a great promoter, a big music fan and a very genuine person”
X-ray Touring’s Steve Strange says Freitas was a “bubbly, beautiful person”.
“We had a great relationship,” he comments. “She was a great promoter, a big music fan and a very genuine person.”
He also praises Freitas’s work as a voluntary mentor for a college in Sao Paolo, where she taught local students the ins and outs of the live business. “It was incredibly close to her heart,” he says. “Those students, and helping them and mentoring them… it was a pleasure for her.”
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